


Nothing But An Animal

by Redlightgreenlight_swag



Category: Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dehumanization, Emotional Manipulation, Human Experimentation, Hurt Gar, Hurt/Comfort, Psychological Torture, Team as Family, a little dark lmao, lowkey stockholm syndrome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:20:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22410166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redlightgreenlight_swag/pseuds/Redlightgreenlight_swag
Summary: What if when Connor and Gar were taken by Cadmus, Gar never ended up escaping? What lengths would the Titans go to find him and could Cadmus turn a once kind boy into nothing but an animal?-Sorry, I'm not great at summaries but read the notes to know more ;)
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Donna Troy, Dick Grayson & Koriand'r & Garfield Logan & Rachel Roth, Garfield Logan & Titans, Jason Todd & Rose Wilson, Rachel Roth & Dick Grayson, Rachel Roth & Garfield Logan
Comments: 9
Kudos: 53





	1. Missing

**Author's Note:**

> BACKGROUND INFO :))
> 
> This story is an alternate ending to season 2 of Titans. The series doesn't quite delve into Garfield's character much and it constantly disappoints me :(, so I decided I’d write if Gar never escaped Cadmus. While Cadmus messed with Connor and Gar's brains they accidentally tampered with Connor's memory, causing him to forget Gar was captured with him (we'll just pretend the cameras in Titans Tower effed up and didn't see Gar get captured either). Mercy realized they could use it to their benefit, and instead of using Gar in the cafe and to fight Connor, she keeps him hidden. Connor still fights the Titans (Donna lives and Jason reconciles with the team) but Mercy is not caught and no one knows where Gar is…

It's been a week since Connor came back and Gar went missing. Rachel sat in her room with her legs crossed, eyes closed in deep meditation. Black tendrils spiraled from her body and her cheeks were highlighted with black veins. In the recesses of her mind, she tried to find any sign of Gar. The team had been searching relentlessly but to her, it wasn’t enough. Connor swore he remembered nothing about the day that Cadmus kidnapped him, he wasn't even sure that Gar was there. Where did he go? Every waking moment was spent searching, but with no progress to show for it. 

“UGH!” The black tendrils vanished and her eyes returned back to normal. Huffing she fell back on her bed. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes as a knock sounded. 

“Leave me alone!” Much to her annoyance the door creaked open and Dick entered the room. 

“Hey kid,” Dick stood stiffly, “you're not looking so good.” He made his way around the bed and sat. He stayed silent, contemplating his next words. Rachel's eyes remained closed but she turned to face him. 

“Maybe you should take a small break from searching for Gar.” She hastily sat up but before she could say anything he interrupted. 

“We’ll all continue looking, ok, day and night. But Rache...you're killing yourself. You need to take a break.” Damn, he was sure getting better at these talks. Rachel huffed and realized there was no point in fighting him, and nodded. Dick slowly rose and stepped toward the door.

“I'm scared Dick.” His hand on the doorknob he turned his head slightly.

“Me too kid. But I promise we’ll find him.” His words did little to reassure her but what else could he say? She wished she was young again so she could just believe him without a doubt. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss.

  
  
  
  


So far they had left him alone. They fed him, let him watch TV (only two channels but still, TV), gave him running water and clean clothes. Wasn't he a prisoner? They must not have much experience kidnapping people. 

Gar sat lazily in his living room, smothered in the white padded shirt they forced him to wear, watching old ass cartoons. Seriously, he can appreciate the classics but black and white start to get too dreary after a week in solitude. He “gracefully” rolled off the couch and onto the floor with an "umpf". 

“So bored.” He longed to embrace the tiger and get the hell out of this place. But he knew it was crawling with guards, it was simply a waiting game. He prayed the team would hurry up and rescue him. Didn’t Connor tell them he was here still? Where were they and why were they taking so long? They're probably just taking their time planning to make sure they get him out safely. Why else, especially with what happened with Jason and Deathstroke. 

Gar stared up at the pristine white ceiling, thanking every god out there that this wasn’t like the asylum. Just thinking about being stripped of his clothes in that cage, prodded over and over like he was an… an animal, made a shiver run down his spine. He shook it off and his thoughts swiftly moved back to the Titans. His… family. He would never say that to their faces (way too embarrassing) but they were his family. They were all he had now, being away from the Chief and the others. He didn’t want to lose them, they treated him as an equal, not a patient. It was different and new and he loved it. 

He thought about Rachel. He missed her so much. Recently it had felt like they were drifting. With all the old Titans coming back, it felt like he was being forgotten by not only Rachel but the whole team. When Dick just left him alone that day, it was like he stopped existing. No Titans, no family, no superhero. No purpose. A tear slipped out of his eye, and he pushed himself off the floor. He slumped onto the couch. 

“Maybe now would be a good time to nap.” He mumbled.

“Sorry Garfield, but I'm afraid your nap will have to wait.” He jumped off the couch and spun around. In front of the door stood, Mercy Graves. The supposed “friend” of Eve. The tiger rumbled in his chest, but he held his composure. 

“What do you want?” Gar all but growled. She smirked and straightened up.

“You're going to need to come with me.”

“Nah I'm feeling kinda tired, I think I'll pass.” She laughed.

“It's funny that you think you actually have a choice.” With a quick whistle, Gar suddenly felt a prick in his neck. Ripping it out he looked at a dart, that suspiciously resembled a tranquilizer. “Oh, you can take that nap now.” Stumbling, he collapsed to the floor, reminding him all too much of when the Chief shot him. It seemed like his life just kept repeating. As black dots shrouded his vision, he heard the oncoming stomp of boots and reluctantly let the darkness consume him.


	2. Killer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: minor-ish panic attack and description of a murder

_ It’s so cold. _

He wrapped his arms around his freezing body, trying to hold onto the warmth that was quickly escaping his grasp. He rolled onto his side, pulling his knees to his chest. The cold floor beneath him offered no warmth and no cushion. As he dragged his hand up and down his leg he realized something.

_ Where the hell are my clothes? _

His eyes flew open and he pushed himself off the floor only to fall back down in his hurry. He scooted back until he crammed himself into a far corner. His hands pulled at his hair and his breath picked up.

“No, no, no, no. Not a c-cage. No, no, no.” He whispered like a broken record. He looked around frantically for a door, for any possible exits. None. The only thing were bars bars bars. The cold air blanketed him, and the smell of rust and iron attacked his senses. It was like he was back, back at the asylum, being prodded by that crazy doctor. Squeezing his eyes shut he gripped his legs to his chest tightly and rocked. Hoping, praying this was just a nightmare. That he wasn’t back. 

“Please, please, please.” He whimpered, as a broken sobbed escaped his chapped lips. 

Then the  _ click-clack _ of heels made him freeze. 

“Good morning Garfield.” He slowly opened his eyes. Stood before him, obscured by iron bars, was Mercy Graves. Clad in her classic all black, her work clothes had been replaced with a crisp suit. Hair pulled back tight. She practically glistened with arrogance and authority. Sharp edges gave way to more sharp edges. A smirk graced her face as she looked down on his shaking form. He felt like a bug watching an encroaching shoe. Helpless but to sit and wait for his demise. He wanted to get up, to tell her that his family coming, that she wouldn’t win. But it had been a week. A whole week. They knew where he was. By now, at least Jason or Rachel would’ve come for him, wouldn’t they? They would, they had to. They wouldn’t just leave him behind. Rachel wouldn’t let them. 

“They’ll come for me.” His voice shook but his eyes never broke contact with hers. She scoffed and stepped closer to the cage. 

“Garfield, do you know how many people you’ve killed?” His breath stopped. 

“W-what?” He managed to croak. 

“Because I know.” Her voice sounded amused. She had a hand braced against one of the bars now. Looking down on him, almost gleefully. He killed one person right? Just that, that doctor.  _ Right? _

“O-only one.” He was trembling far fiercer than before.  _ Only one, only one.  _

“Are you sure about that?” Where his heart felt as if it had stopped before, now it was as if it would explode from his chest. He could only remember one person’s screams of terror. One person’s taste of hot blood filled his mouth in his nightmares. Only one person’s broken body was seared into his memory, he saw the doctor every time he closed his eyes. The image tattoed to the inside of his eyelids. The tiger could have a mind of its own, sometimes the tiger tried to consume him. It had before, what if… it had again? 

Unbeknownst to him, Mercy had rolled over a flat-screen TV from beside the cage. 

“Garfield look at me.” His eyes, which had been fixed on the floor, flicked up. Tears obscured his vision and his bottom lip trembled. “Good boy.” He wanted to puke. Gar was now freely crying, breaths coming fast and panicked. 

“P-please. Please stop.” He whispered. His hands traveled back to his hair, gripping it like a lifeline. The pain grounding him.

“I want you to pay attention to this video. Watch closely. Now, I must get going. Goodbye Garfield.” With a final smirk thrown his way, she turned the TV on and left the room swiftly. Curiosity won and he found himself crawling over to the flat screen. Knuckles white on the bars, he watched as the screen went from black to static to a white room where he sat with what looked to be a doctor.  _ Why is it always a doctor?  _ He and the doctor began talking. 

_ “Rachel?” He spoke first. “What are you doing here?” _

_ “I’ve been looking for you.” The doctor spoke. “What happened?” She said almost mechanically.  _

_ “Uh..” He chuckled. “You’re never gonna believe it,” he ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck. “Commandos blew up the tower, and kidnapped Connor and I.” The doctor cautiously moved closer to him. “And then I was at Cadmus labs…” A mix of confusion and sadness crossed his face. “They were doing brain surgery on me.”  _

_ “That’s awful.” The doctor leaned forward slightly. He smiled a bit at her concern. All of a sudden, his smile dropped and a quiet growl sounded. He began to transform. _

Unable to look away, Gar watched as he transformed in an instant. The doctor lady hadn’t stood a chance. He watched as she screamed and begged for help. He watched as he tore her to shreds. Her bones crunched in his very own jaws. Lost in the horrific video, Gar didn’t even realize his hands had slipped from the bars and he had crashed to the concrete floor below. Suddenly, the screen went black. He sighed in relief. Until the video started all over again and he couldn’t fight the tears any longer. He cried for the doctor, for himself, and for what he had become. Dispair seemed to consume him and no matter how hard he squeezed his eyes shut or put his hands over his ears, the video stayed just as loud and vivid. There was no escaping the truth. 

_ I’m an animal. A monster. _

  
  
  
  
  


The video shut off after what felt like hours. But Gar could still see himself ripping into that woman. He could still hear her screams and pleas. He laid motionless on the floor facing away from the TV, the only signs of life were his shuddering breaths. The familiar  _ click-clack _ of heels snapped his mind to the present. He rolled over slowly. Mercy crouched in front of him, setting a black briefcase down next to her. Head tilted, studying his bloodshot eyes and shivering form. 

“So, now you see why we have to keep you in a cage.” She met his eyes. “It’s for everyone’s safety.” He pushed himself into a sitting position and came eye to eye with her. “You’re a dangerous animal Garfield if you went back to the Titans who knows what you’d do to them. Do you really want to take that chance?” He slowly shook his head, mouth opened and eyes glazed. “I didn’t think so. Cadmus can help you.” She broke eye contact and opened the briefcase, taking out a thick black… collar. 

“No please no.” She shushed him and motioned for him to lean forward. After a moment’s hesitation, he did. He closed his eyes tightly and gasped as the cold metal clicked around his neck. 

“I don’t want you to freeze to death, so here are some clothes.” His eyes fluttered open and he took the black sweatpants and sweatshirt graciously. 

“Th-thank you.” She smiled a bit and rose to her feet, grabbing the briefcase. 

“Get some sleep we have a long day tomorrow. Goodnight pet.” And just like that, she was gone. Slipping the clothes on, Gar collapsed almost instantly in the middle of the cage. He fell into a restless sleep. His nightmares soaked with blood and plagued with the screams of his victims. What was he to become? 

  
  
  
  
  


Jason jumped on his motorcycle, and Rose followed. It was far past midnight, but sleep wasn’t coming anytime soon, so why not have some fun? He threw her the extra helmet and they sped away from Titan Tower. The streets were almost empty at this ungodly hour and the only people awake were unfortunate businessmen and creeps. The stars weren’t visible but the shine of the buildings made up for it. In Jason’s opinion, this was the best time to be awake. The city finally fell from an ear-splitting roar to a soft growl. This was just the distraction he craved. Bars were still open and turned out they both had a fake ID. Passing drunks and homeless people, they arrived in front of some old, shit hole pub. Devoid of people and life itself.  _ Perfect.  _

“Alright Bird boy, let’s have some fun.”

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope u guys enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter will be more focused on the rest of the team :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope ya'll enjoy the first chapter, sorry it's so short. Hopefully, the next chapters will be longer. I'm not sure when I'll be updating next, I don't even have the story fully planned out yet lmao. But don't worry I'll figure it out and update yall.


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